Shipping container



May 26, 1936.

V. WlLLOUGHBY SHIPPING CONTAINER 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 22, 1931 R /fzyi ATTORNEY d@ im v w Y w mwa o ohhwmrl ll||M|\m|..io1|| HhlmHlIIIHIIIIhMIIMwMlMN IWHMMIMMIHMMNHNHHMIIIIH w w o o o Q o o O C C: Q o o o u? M .M MM MMMH #WLMI O wv o o NY o l i v o o o o o Nm: o o o o o oooooooooc *NI oo r Q owlmlohlolelwmw Ol i OOOOUOnO o n @l m.

o o I Q ll'lllk May 26, 1936. v WILLOUGHBY 2,042,441

SHIPPING CONTANER Filed July 22, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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May 26, 1936- v. WILLQUGHBY' SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed July 22, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 v. WILLOUGHBY 2,042,441

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed July 22, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 //Z' L A /NV/V/op l cia l' ZZAZ ATTORNEY May 26,1936.

May 26,1936. v. WILLOUGHBY l 2,042,441

SHIPPING CONTAINER.

Filed Julyzz, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 2 Ta. .N Y. mlWBA p lgm Patented May 26, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIPPING CONTAINER Application July 22, 1931, Serial No. 552,376

5 Claims.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a shipping container for handling fractional car lots of merchandise which is formed of an underframe comprising side and end sills and transverse and longitudinal stiffeners all riveted together to form a skeleton base for the container.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a shipping container of the kind described having corner posts provided with post stiffeners, certain of which are formed to define reinforced door posts.

This invention further contemplates the provision of a container which is adapted to be lifted and moved about by a crane or the like, which container includes side walls having tension members connected to a base frame to which the side walls are secured, the tension members being spaced o'n each of the side walls and having means for engagement by the lifting tackle, and compression members secured to the side walls adjacent their upper edges and connecting the upper ends of said tension members whereby when the container is lifted horizontal components of the lifting strains will be removed from the roof and side walls of the container.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a shipping container adapted to be transported on a railway car or a motor truck, said container having means on its side walls for engagement by suitable tackle to permit the container to be lifted and moved about, the means being spaced on each side of the container and the container being stiffened adjacent the lifting means by a strut that serves to distribute the stresses tov which the container is subjected.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the container.

Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of the container.

Fig, 3 is a rear end elevation of the container.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the interior of the container taken just abo-ve the oor line, the View being taken on the line 4 4, Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5 5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken on the line 6 6, Fig. l.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 'I l, Fig. 2.

(Cl. 22o-1.5)

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8 8, Fig. 9.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary front elevation of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 2, the View being taken above the upper door hinges. 5

Fig. 10 is a detail View showing the construction of the carlins and purlins.

Fig. 11 is a sectional View taken on the line Il II, Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a sectional View at the lower left-hand l0 portion of Fig. 2, below the lower door hinges, the view being taken on the line I2 I,2, Fig. 13.

Fig. 13 is a sectional View taken on the lineV I3 I3, Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a sectional View taken on the line 15 I4 I4, Fig. 4.

Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken on the line I5 I5, Fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary view showing the lower end of one of the stiifening ribs, and 20 Fig. 1'7 is a sectional view taken on the line I'I I'I, Fig. 16.

Referring now more particularly tol the drawings in which similar characters of reference are used to indicate similar parts in the several Views, 25 the shipping container of the present invention comprises in the main, a base, A, side walls B, a Xed or closed rear end wall C, a front endwall D and a roof E, the container being formed completely of metal, as will hereinafter more fully 30 appear. The base A is strong and formed of material suitable for carrying the load while the body of the container may be formed of a lighter material such as aluminum, if desired, all Within the scope of the present invention. 35

'Ihe baseA comprises side and end sills 2 and 4, respectively, channel shaped in the instance shown, and having upper and lower flanges 6 and 8, respectively, the ends of which are mitered and adjacently arranged (see Fig. 13) and 40 are connected together by suitable means such as the gussets I 0 riveted as at I2 to the upper surfaces of the lower flanges 8 of said sills, thus forming a substantially rectangular frame in which the adjacent sills are inwardly facing to provide 45 a symmetrical exterior.

As clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a plurality of underframe stiffeners I6 and I8 are provided, said stiifeners being Z-shaped in section and stiifeners I6 extending between and being sup- 50 ported by the lower flanges of the side sills 2. The Yrivets I9 or other suitable fasteners are provided for connecting the stiffeners I6 to the side sills. The Z stiifeners I8 extend longitudinally of the underframe and between adjacently 55 arranged transverse stiifeners I6 and also between the end sills 4 and the adjacent transverse stiffeners I6. The longitudinal stiffeners I8 are supported at their ends by the lower flanges of the lend sills and stiieners I6 and by 60 "feet, the corner-posts each comprise `a pair. ofV

be in substantially the same horizontal planeA as the upper ilanges of the end sills and-stufen@ L ers I6 thereby providing an underframefi'whi'ch all elements thereofl may supporfaixpllteintal floor 28 riveted to the uppeiflangesf thejsi'de'" and end sills and the upper ilagesoffthe stiff'- the description just above it is apparentthat the end portions of the container adjicenttliebottom thereof, and more particularly the end sills, are reinforced against buckling due to end shocks to which the container may be subjected by. the provision of the longitudinally arranged stiifening elements connected to the end sills and Athe adjacent cross stiffeners l-6. -It will also be apparent that the metal-oor 28 at the endportions of the container is supported by a plurality of supporting elements. The construction 'just described is in Ycontradistinction to.. a 'container in which the end sills and lower endportions of.. the container are not stiffened against end shocks thus rendering the construction easily susceptible to deformation because the end sill..alone re ceivesfull impact.y Theplatemetallfloor 28 may be of one piece or of a plurality of pieces, as indicated in Fig.. 15, wherein adjacent 'edges of the sheets forming the plate metal floor 281 are over-- lapped .as at 3l andriveted to the upperilanges of the stiffeners. Y

Fromthe above descriptioniit'l is believed that those skilled in the art willV see'that an underframe has been provided whichfis f, skeleton formation, but which, becauseof its construction,- .is exceptionally .strong to withstand service connditions.

The side walls B and rear' end wall C are. formedofl pairs ofrmetal plates 30 and 32, respectively, overlapped alongv ya horizontal line .andriveted together as shownat 34; plates.32.hav ing their lower edges lapping the channelVV sills and riveted thereto as-at 36'. vThe.adjacent side edges of the side and end walls lapV the'legs of angle shaped corner posts .38 .and are riveted lthereto and to internal poststiffe'ners, 40, as Yshown atY 42, the post stiffeners being substantially cofextensive with the posts 38, but having their lower ends welded to the plate'metal iloor and to the sills, as shown at 44, see Figs. 4 and` 13, while the lower ends ofthe posts 38 lap' adjacent side and end sills andare riveted thereto,

as shown at 46..

At the front end wall VD thev post stiffeners 40 have one leg thereof inwardly flanged as at 48 vin the general direction ofthe longer axis ofthe container to define Aa, door post and then rear. wardly bent asfatf50 to Vdefine a door poststiflener. .To provide additional Vstrength atthe front end wall.corner stiifeners .52. are providedA adjacent eachpost stiffener 48,sraird corner stiffeners comprising clips or gussets, each hav-ing. a.

base 54 riveted to the plate @metal floor'. .28 and-A the adjacent side andV end sills, and an attaching'. iiange 56 complemental tothe post stiflener 4'0`i and riveted to the latter, as shown at58`. Infefvertical members between. which the side and` end wallsY arepositioned and towhichlsaid walls. are connected, one of said membersbeing substan tially'` angle-shapedV while thefoth'ei' A member (member 40) comprises the. legs 60 united by a diagonal brace 62, which latter forms a strut between the legs of the post, thereby stiffening the entire post assembly. The front end wall D conprises in themainya door header 64 and doors 66,'the latter being hingedly connected yas at 68 to the corner posts and each including a rec- .tangular frame formed Vof connected stiles and rails 10, Zshaped in the instance shown, and a front plate 12', all such as shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Thedoorsarepreferably stiffened by horizontally arranged Z-bars-M while the upper verticalV chord 1.6: of thexupper door rail 10 overlaps the vertical leg 18 of fanangle shaped upper door frame-member which extends between opposite corner. posts. and .is riveted as at 82: tothe j doorv leaderLthe lower edge of. the latter beingv outwardly and downwardly flanged as Yat 84 to define a walter4s`hed..v The member 80 is connect-- ed at` its,Y ends to .the corner posts `by angle brackets 85 the vertical legsV of which are riveted to', the cornerl'posts (see Fig. 9) and the horizontall legs 81 rest upon and are riveted to the hori-V zontal lgLof the. said member 8D. As clearly shown inv Fig. 2`,th`e header 64 extends between and is riveted to, the corner posts at this end of the, container. The header is further stiffened byverticalbraces 86.as is clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The roof E may be formedV ofY a single metal sheet or plate ifdesired but in the instance shownl is'f'orm'ed'of a plurality of adjacently arranged sheets.88 theA adjacent edges ofv which are overlappedona linel transverse to the longitudinal dimension of thecontainerand are connectedtogetlierf inV any Ysuitable manner as by weldingl orV riveting. The roof sheets' include. vdownwardly extending ilanges *89 which overlap theV upper edges ofthe side and endwalls and are riveted thereto as shown at 90. The upper portionsY ofV thefsi'de andrend walls are inwardly anged as at tofstilfen the walls and'to provide supporting.

elements for'the roof. It will be obvious that the present.construction-avoids the necessity of using independent members such as angleachannels, etc. to formA side and end plates because the flanges 489Vandthe portions of the Walls overlapped by thereof constitute, in effect, such plates. The roof E ,isgsti'fffened by carlins 92, one arranged at the jointrformed by the overlap of adjacent roof sheets (see Fig. l) and the othersV haviiigithir r ends riveted to the inwardly extending horizontal flanges v94 of angle shaped struts S, the vertical,

legs96 of which are connected to the upper edges Y of the side Walls `by rivets as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Thel carlins 82 reinforce or stiffen the roof transverselyI of the container butin addition to these members Vthe roof is further stiffened by purlins 98` formed `in sectionsl and connected to the carlins-v 92'k by means of gussets |00, (see Figs. 10 and 11)'.V v

' In service, containers such as herein'shown and described; are vsubjected to severe strains and stresses due to the lifting and moving about by cranes or the like, and the present day demand is` for a V'container which will be relatively light in 6 weight but strong `enough to withstand service conditions. The elimination of the usual side and i do not. extend from. end to end of thecontainer but, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1, the ends of the struts terminate adjacent lifting ears I 02 secured to the container by the before mentioned rivets and each comprising overlapped strap portions |04 defining an eye |06 in which is positioned a lifting loop |08; the loops |08 being adapted for receiving suitable hoisting tackle whereby the container may be lifted and moved about by a crane. Secured between the portions |04 of the lifting ears are the upper ends of downwardly diverging ribs 0 the lower ends of which are riveted to the side sills (see Fig. 1) and serve to stiiTen the side walls as will be apparent. The side walls B are further stiffened by vertical ribs ||2 extending between the roof and the side sills and arranged between the sets of ribs ||0. It has been found desirable to further stiifen the side walls, particularly the portions 32 thereof by means of horizontal ribs ||4 which extend between the ribs ||0 as shown in Fig. 1. The ribs ||0, ||2 and 4 are all connected to the side walls in any suitable manner as by being riveted at I6.

To those skilled in the art it will be obvious that the ribs ||0 are tension members which are connected to the base frame and are arranged in sets; the upper ends of the tension members being connected to the lifting ears |02. As will be apparent in Fig. 1 the struts extend between and connect the upper ends of the tension members |0 and therefore serve as compression members. It will also be apparent that when the container is lifted and moved about the horizontal components of the lifting strains are removed from the roof E and the side walls B and are transmitted directly to the'sturdy base frame.

The rear end wall C is reinforced by vertical ribs I I8 extending between the roof and the end sill and riveted thereto and to the plates 30 and 32 forming the end wall as shown at |20.

For retaining the doors in normal closed position suitable locking means |22 are provided which may be conventional.

From the description herein it is believed that the construction of the container of the present invention will be fully apparent to those skilled in the art. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a container such as shown and described herein may be fabricated of lighter material than those in present day use. The side walls, end walls and roof may be made of aluminum? if desired and due to the fact that the horizontal components of the lifting strains are removed from the walls and roof by the present construction the most effective strength members comprise a skeleton frame. The container is particularly adapted for handling fractional car loads of merchandise and hence is adapted for use with railway cars such as gondola cars or flat cars but obviously the construction shown and described may be utilized satisfactorily in Some containers of smaller size for handling, storing and transporting smaller amounts of merchandise.

The drawings herein illustrate one embodiment of the invention but it is to be understood that they are for illustrative purposes only and various changes in the form and proportions of the construction may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A container comprising connected side walls and end walls, a roof supported by said walls and having marginal flanges overlapping the upper edges of the said walls and constituting side and end plates, a base to which the side and end Walls are connected, spaced sets of tension members secured to the side Walls and base, compression members secured to the inner surfaces of the side walls adjacent their upper edges and extending only between the sets of tension members and connected to the latter, and lifting elements to which the tension members and compression members are connected.

2. A container comprising connected side walls and end walls, a roof supported by said Walls and having marginal flanges overlapping the upper edges of the said Walls and constituting side and end plates, a base to which the side and end walls are connected, spaced sets of tension members secured to the side walls and base, compression members secured to the inner surfaces of the side walls adjacent their upper edges, said compression members extending only between and being connected to these sets of tension members and having inturned flanges constituting roof supporting elements, and lifting elements to which the tension and compression members are connected.

3. A container for fractional car lots comprising connected side Walls and end Walls having their upper edge portions inwardly flanged to constitute roof supporting elements, a roof resting upon said anges and having depending marginal flanges overlapping the side and end walls and constituting side and end plates, a base to which the side and end Walls are connected,

' spaced sets of tension members secured to the side walls and base, compression members secured to the inner surfaces of the side walls adjacent the inturned anges thereof and provided with inwardly extending flanges underlying the before mentioned side wall flanges, said compression members extending only between and being connected to the sets of tension members, lifting elements to which the tension members and compression members are connected, and transversely arranged roof bracing elements connected to the inwardly extending flanges of the compression members.

4. In a container, a base frame including connected side and end sills, side and end walls lapping the sills, angle-shaped corner posts connecting adjacent side and end walls, a floor supported by the base frame, internal post stiifeners connected to the posts including intermediate angular portions spaced from the posts and forming struts, the post stiifener at the front end of the container having one edge thereof extending beyond the corner post and being inturned inwardly to form a door post, and corner stiffeners secured to the floor and flanged upwardly against said post stiieners, portions of said internal door post overlapping said stiffeners, and a roof secured to the upper portion of the side and end wall.

5. In a container, a base frame including side and end sills, side and end walls lapping the sills, angle-shaped corner posts connecting adjacent side and end walls, a iioor supported by the base frame, an internal post stiffener at the front end of the container having an intermediate portion spaced from the corner post to define a strut, one edge of said stiffener extending beyond the post and being inturned to denne a door post, and a roof secured to the upper portion of theside and end walls.

VICTOR WILLOUGHBY. 

